California and the American Dream explores the dynamics of culture, community and identity in one of the most diverse regions in the world. In the last 35 years, California has become a laboratory for divergent social trends. Together, these trends have so radically transformed the state that it bears little resemblance to the Hollywood dreamscape it projected in previous decades. In the post 9-11 era, California is center stage for an array of issues re-defining the American agenda – from changing demographics to new models of civic engagement, from the role of immigrants in neighborhood life to the challenge to democracy by the initiative process, from sustainable agriculture to Native American gaming and sovereignty.